About Making Connections
MAKING CONNECTIONS is a forum in which TPI members can get to know one another. The forum is designed for clinicians at all levels of experience and practice. On the first Friday of each month—October through June, unless otherwise noted—members and their guests gather at the Institute from 3:45–6:00 pm to discuss a topic that relates to the experience of being a therapist.
At each Making Connections gathering, there is a presentation and time for discussion; the emphasis is on dialoguing and sharing personal thinking, wisdom, and challenges related to being in the profession. One of the main goals of Making Connections is to provide a open discussion of clinical issues and dilemmas not typically discussed in other venues. There also is time to socialize, network, and increase collegial affiliation. Please feel free to bring a guest. Making Connections is a way to give colleagues an introduction to TPI in an intimate professional setting.
- Get to know your colleagues at The Psychotherapy Institute.
- Present ideas or issues that interest, puzzle, or concern you.
- Brainstorm, dialogue, and stimulate thought while building community.
- Network and participate in small-group discussions and experiential process.
About Participating
If you would like more connection at TPI and are looking for a way to participate with fellow colleagues, join our Making Connections Committee. This is a fun and useful way to be part of changing and contributing to the ever-unfolding TPI culture.
Our once-monthly meetings are held on the second Friday of the month—September through June—from 4:00–5:30 pm at the Institute. For more information, contact Kate Harling.
We also welcome your participation as a presenter at Making Connections. Please contact Kate Harling if you have a topic you’d like to discuss or an idea you’d like to share.
2010 Forum Calendar
Day: First Friday of the month (unless otherwise noted)
Time: 3:45–6:00 pm (first 15 minutes are for socializing)
Place: The Psychotherapy Institute
October 1st, 2010
Integrating Psychotherapy with Creativity
Presenter: Graeme Daniels, MFT
In my presentation I reflect upon a long-standing desire to express ideas in a creative context; ideas that pertain directly to psychotherapy, as well as social issues that have touched upon my work. Such issues include: legalization of gay marriage; legalization of recreational drugs; racial and generational divisiveness, and environmentalism. These issues provide a subtext to my novel, Living Without Blood, and depict a psychotherapy episode that is pivotal to the narrative. Written from the point of view of a would-be client, this feature of the novel allows for a satirical, if serious-minded perspective, from one who observes from within the profession.
I have been a practicing psychotherapist of fourteen years. I balance duties as associate director at Don Mathew's ITC agency, with a part time private practice in Pleasant Hill. Meanwhile, I maintain a long standing association with the Thunder Road Substance Abuse Treatment Center in Oakland, as a supervisor of their intern program. In each of these settings, I bring my knowledge of and experience with addictions and psychotherapy to bear.
November 5th, 2010
Being at Home in the Modern World: How Evolutionary Psychology Informs Our Work with Clients
Presenter: Susan Welch, MFT
The Achuar, an indigenous tribe in Ecuador, has prophesied ours to be the time of the Eagle and the Condor: a conscious partnership between indigenous and modern worldviews. Evolutionary psychologists speak of a "mismatch" between the modern world (cultural evolution) and an environment more suited to human beings who are essentially hunter-gatherers by nature (biological evolution). How does one find resilience in the face of the multitude of modern stressors today? Can we start by being at home in our bodies, on our Earth, in our families and neighborhoods? Can we experience in ourselves the essential qualities that make us human, remembering what feels right, true and nourishing? Can we consciously participate in rapidly evolving "memes" (cultural genes) that promote our optimal well-being? What would you want to have in your "resilience toolkit"? In this presentation we will discuss how to introduce such an experiential evolutionary framework to clients and how to support their resilience in some surprising ways.
Susan Sawyer Welch, MFT, received her Masters in Transpersonal Psychology from JFK University in 2004. Her training began with Somatic Evolutionary Psychologists Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry over 15 years ago. She has since trained with the Lomi Psychotherapy Clinic and the Hakomi Institute of Ca. in somatic therapy disciplines. A longtime intentional community resident, Susan brings her passion for social justice, environmental sustainability and spiritual fulfillment together in her work as a facilitator of the"Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream" Symposium of the Pachamama Alliance and Transition Town initiatives. She has long believed that the field of psychology has a role to play in supporting the formation of harmonious village-sized healing communities.
December 3rd, 2010
After Pinocchio Became a Real Boy: A New Therapeutic Model for Building Upon Previous Analytic Work
Presenter: Nancy Ulmer, LCSW
Since my certification ten years ago in both clinical hypnosis and EMDR, I've had a number of clients approach me who have experienced successful long-term analytic treatment(s). Using EMDR or hypnosis, they want to work on a lingering symptom such as a fear of public speaking, test anxiety, or a stress related health problem. They do not wish to enter another traditional analytic psychotherapy, but recognize that in addressing their specific symptom that some psychodynamic issues may well emerge. What has developed from my work with these clients, many of them therapists, is a new model of therapy with a slightly different frame, using a more collaborative working alliance. The development of this model is informed by my study of attachment theory and neuroscience combined with my traditional psychodynamic training and a working knowledge of EMDR and hypnosis. The talk will include highlights from the first case that prompted me to begin working with this model.
Nancy Ulmer, LCSW maintains a private practice in Albany, is a core faculty in the Wright Institute Masters Program, and supervises at the Women's Therapy Center. She has a long-standing interest in the clinical application of neuroscience. She recently co-authored the paper "The Transformation of a Traumatic Brain Injury: the development of self-regulation and mentalizing through the analytic relationship," presented at the 2010 International Neuorpsychoanalysis Congress.
January 7th, 2011
Adult Attachment: The Somatics of Connection
Presenter: Leslie Kirby, MFT
As a depth psychotherapist who worked primarily with individual adults, I learned about attachment through couples' therapy (Dr. Sue Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy). As a somatic practitioner, I began to see how much couples were communicating to each other through their bodies regarding how connected or disconnected they felt with each other, no matter what topic they spoke about. The more I studied this rich body dialogue, I noticed it occurring between people everywhere. I began to study my own internal body reactions around connection with the people in my life as well as with my individual clients. With clients, I noticed that speaking about our connection and tracking our attachment responses in vivo brought our relationship into the room in a way that I had not experienced before.
When we feel connected, our bodies relax and we open to more safety, more meaning and more trust. Connection helps us bear pain and take risks. Sometimes it is the only thing that can get us through extreme hardships and suffering.
Come join us as we focus on connection and share how we all experience attachment live in our work.
Leslie Kirby, MFT is in private practice in Berkeley. She integrates an Adult Attachment frame and somatics with depth psychotherapy. She consults and runs groups for therapists wanting to learn more about Adult Attachment. At the Healing Center for Survivors of Political Torture she used body-based trauma methods and saw results that convinced her of the power of working somatically.
February 4th, 2011
How Fatherhood Changes Men: Reconnecting with Vulnerability and Empathy
Presenter: Bruce Linton, MFT, Ph.D.
When I became a father for the first time, almost 30 years ago I thought I was prepared to be a dad. I had recently become licensed as an MFT and my wife at the time was a nurse working in the "new born" nursery at our local hospital. I was surprised by how overwhelmed I was. I had feelings of great joy and feelings of great trepidation. I became aware that the birth of our son awakened a vast new realm of vulnerability within me. Becoming a father helped me integrate split off parts of a more vulnerable, nurturing, empathetic, authentic self. At today's Making Connections I will share parts of my recent film "Becoming a Father" and highlight the developmental changes men experience upon becoming fathers.
Bruce Linton, MFT, PH.D. founded the Fathers' Forum , which offers groups, classes and workshops for expectant and new fathers. He received his doctorate for his research on men's development as fathers. He is the author of "Finding Time for Fatherhood; men's concerns as parents." Bruce has been a long time member of TPI and is in private practice in Berkeley.
March 4th, 2011
Affairs to Remember: Surrender and the Heart of Healing in Couple's Therapy
Presenter: Susan Berger, MFT
Susan Berger, MFT has been in private practice since 1986. She is a former adjunct faculty of New College of California and taught at U.C. Berkeley Extension from 1986 - 2005. She has a special interest in infidelity and has, over the last four years, had the opportunity to assist many couples and individuals struggling with this issue.
April 1st, 2011
Talking in Images: How Art-Making Can Deepen the Therapy Relationship
Presenter: Barbara Haber, MFT
Barbara Haber has used imagery in her therapy practice for over 25 years.